Swift parrot wins bird of the year, highlights need for conservation

The biennial competition, hosted in partnership with BirdLife Australia and The Guardian, shows off Australia's bird life but also highlights important messages around conservation.

Tasmanian independent ecologist Eric Woehler OAM said the swift parrot was a "breeding endemic," meaning they only breed in Tasmania.

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"It's one of three migratory species of parrots in the world," Dr Woehler said.

"The orange bellied parrot, the swift parrot, and the blooming parrot are the only three parrots in the world that migrate and they all occur in Tasmania.

"It's part of a very special and unique group of birds."

Dr Woehler said he was pleased to see the parrot had won, as it brought attention to their endangered status.

He said the loss of their breeding habitat was very much part of their decline.

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"Forestry operations are the single biggest threat to swift parrots," Dr Woehler said.

"To some extent, subsidiary land clearing for agriculture and other habitat fragmentation is also a process."

The federal government announced last month it would set up a plan to protect the swift parrot, partly through reducing the number of sugar gliders, a key predator.

Sugar gliders are not native to Tasmania and pose a threat to the parrots as they eat their eggs, and kill chicks and sometimes, adults.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in September the plan would help protect them from predators, support their habitats and promote their future breeding.

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The government planned to invest $1.3 million in projects to support the parrot's recovery.

The Tasmanian and Queensland governments signed up to the federal plan, with Victoria and New South Wales also invited to join.

Dr Woehler said the sugar gliders "magnified" the threat as they worked adjacent to areas cleared by forestry.

"It's a one-two punch with forestry then sugar gliders," Dr Woehler said.

"The population is crashing literally while we're looking at it ... the population 20 years ago was in the order of 2000 birds, I think at the moment the current estimate is in the order of 600 or 700 individuals."

He said the more people were aware of the issues, the greater chance it had of surviving.

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